September Rain
by yume girl 91
Summary: She said she always liked the rain and the peace it brought her soul. Hichigoxoc IchiRuki
1. Chapter 1

Title: September rain

Pairing: HichigoxKei & IchigoxRukia?

~*~

"I'm not here to join you...I'm here to use you."

Shinji's smile never wavered, "we'll see."

A small shadow to the left shifted into a crouching position, hand tensing for her sword. Shinji stopped her, "Hiyori don't! Not you!"

The blond-pigtailed girl scowled, "why the hell not?!"

" 'Cause I said so..." the Vizard leader surveyed Ichigo's face, smile widening, "we will wait for **her**."

Another gasped, "not--?"

"Yes. In this case when time is of the essence, a more direct approach is needed."

~*~

They made him wait.

_This other would come soon_, Shinji promised.

Scowling even though he had no choice, Ichigo had seated himself down upon a rock, the closest to the staircase, a clear view of the entrance afforded by it.

Nine then...there were nine--

The doors swung open.

He looked up eagerly.

The bottom half of a girl appeared, olive green cargo pants visible below two armfuls of stuff. The Vizards poured forth; Lisa Yadomaru snatched one smallish white bag embossed with the logo of a bookstore near downtown. A joyful yell followed.

"Did you get my magazine?" demanded the stocky-built Kensei Muguruma. The reply was a muffled affirmative. The girl staggered down the steps, Shinji removed the rest of the bags, shooing the others back. "Ichigo-kun, this is..."

He got to his feet.

"_Kei_," the girl interrupted, knocking Shinji's arm from her shoulders. Her hand extended business-like, her smile neither formal nor falsely bright. For some reason he felt his lips curve slightly upward in response, "Ichigo Kurosaki."

"I know," another smile, this time more of a smirk, "Shinji's been going on and on about you forever. It makes me feel as if I know you already."

The Vizard instantly declaimed any notion to which the girl shook her head at.

"Anyway...since you're here I can only assume you're going to--"

"I'm not joining you guys."

Her smile lessened, "then what--"

"I just want you to show me how to control this thing."

She looked to Shinji for approval. He nodded once; she dusted her hands, shrugging her khaki jacket off revealing a worn butterfly T-shirt, the print faded.

Ichigo felt mild trepidation sink like a stone in his stomach at her approach.

_What was she going to do_--

He expected something.

--_hit me like Rukia_--

Certainly not the girl throwing herself on him.

He saw Shinji's bemused look, arms crossed over his chest. Hiyori's roll of her eyes and the sharp ground jar into his backside, the girl's weight dragging him down.

"Hey--"

Darkness enveloped him.

~*~

"So this...is your mindscape."

At the sound of the girl's voice, his eyes flew open.

"You!" he struggled up, his elbows twisting back to gain leverage. Kei ignored his exertion, particularly the bare blade stuck through the back of his shirt into the building, effectively pinning him there.

"Not very cheerful is it?" she asked rhetorically.

Ichigo tried to reach behind to yank the sword out, "let-me-go!"

"And that..." the girl turned, "must be your Hollow."

The figure of his nightmares, a leering image of himself in white and black; Zangetsu was in its hand and a grin that exposed its long tongue peeled its lips back. "Kiiiiiing! What a pleasant surprise!" Its yellow-eyed gaze flickered to her, looking her up and down in a way that brought a flush of shame to Ichigo's cheeks.

"And who...are you?"

~To be continued~

Disclaimer: don't own Bleach.

AN: Instead of including it in ShiKai--those chapters were just too long most of the time to comfortably include more...I decided to make it a separate story.

:) thanks for reading.

No flames-haters-stupid comments!

Reviews appreciated :)


	2. Chapter 2

Title: September rain

Pairing: HichigoxKei & IchigoxRukia?

~*~

"Keiko, however you may call me _Kei_." she answered politely though how anyone in their right mind could be polite to his Hollow, was beyond him.

"Ah. I presume you are the one sent by those fools to put me away in the dark place?"

"If you mean _keep you in check_, then yes." Her smile was still easy, her look unafraid with his sudden movement. "You?" The Hollow rested a fingertip beneath her chin.

Ichigo twisted from side to side, his palms sliding over the cool, blunt surface of the sword. _A sakabato?! _ The cutting edge was dull when his fingers ran over it. Even though try as he might, he couldn't get it to dislodge. He wrenched even harder at the thing, following his inner Hollow's next words.

"I dare you to try." It whispered, their faces inches away.

"Oh...I assure you. I will." The girl--Kei tilted her head at a slight angle, her hand snaking up to press against the side of his face. The Hollow screeched the moment it made contact. "You bitch! What the hell-!" It leapt back, feet scraping to create reishii traction along the sky. "Just what the hell are you!?"

Ichigo was startled at the particular note of fear in its voice.

"Kujo-no-Akuhei." Kei said, tracing a line in the air with her fingertips. "In other words a type of anti-Hollow, the rarest in fact. One that has the ability to _steal_ the power of another. _Bandida_, Shinji calls me." Her look was reminiscent, "and I suppose I am a thief in a way."

The Hollow tried to regain its former bravado, "so, what?! You're going to just ste-e-eal my powers and give 'em to the worthless King?!"

She propped one hand on the hip of her cargo pants, "that's about the long and short of it."

Its grin was back, baring its teeth, "think you, that I'm just going to sit still 'cause you tell me to?" It threw its head back and cackled at the sky. "You're insane!"

"Oh, I'm glad to hear you think so," she disappeared only to reappear over the Hollow's shoulder, a long Katana in hand. It took Ichigo a moment to realize he was free. _When had she pulled it out?!_ _He hadn't seen her!_

"I don't expect it to be easy," a glint shone in the depths of her purple eyes, "in fact I would be severely disappointed if it wasn't." She drew the blade across his white cheek, a thin line of red beaded to the surface. The Hollow's expression tautened, "bitch!" It rammed its elbow back, catching her off guard for a moment. The blade at his neck was knocked askance, the opening lasting less than a second as he spun around, hurtling a black crescent of energy at her from Zangetsu, "Getsuga-Tenshou! Hah! Take that on..."

"You were saying?" The rampant spirit particles cleared, the edge of the moon fang held back by her bare palm. "By your expressions, I gather you weren't paying attention when I explained just what I was." Her smile slipped, the look in her eyes hardening, "I don't like it very much when Hollows think they can ignore me." Palming the coalescing sphere in her hand, she slapped it across her face, a mask of white with a small black crescent moon ringing one eye and below the other, a tear. "I thank you for giving me this," the grinning jaws seemed to extend even farther in the facsimile of a pleasant smile. "Now, I don't have to form it myself."

"Y-You--Y-You--" the Hollow raised a shaking index finger, "how dare you!"

"Hmm?" She phased from sight, the afterimage rippling behind her with every step. The Hollow started back, its expression a fusion of dismay and horror, "no! No! Nooo---"

She lunged for his face, her palm outstretched. In a split second of blinding light, the Hollow's screams had died away and all that was left in its place was a mask--_his mask_, Ichigo realized with slight shock, _still smoking_ from the vacant eyeholes. Kei looked down at it, her expression unreadable _behind the mask_ as it were.

Although...he was sure he was wrong but there seemed to be an _almost regret_-? _Compunction?_ _Qualm_ present when she tossed it his way. Shaken from the suddenness of everything, he barely caught it, fumbling for a minute or two until finally hooking his fingers around the eyeholes. "Kei-?" he spoke her name easily as if he had said it a hundred times before. As simply as he might've said Rukia's name or Orihime's. _Weird_...

She seemed to come back, "temporarily, actually."

"Huh?" The confusion must've shown on his face.

She turned fully to look at him, "I can take the powers of a Hollow only temporarily. Right now..." her violet gaze drifted to the mask he held, "that is your Hollow. Every single ounce of strength it has, now rests in the palm of your hand."

"Oh," he blinked, frowning a little out of habit, "well, so what am I supposed to do now? I mean is it under control?"

She sighed, "for now like I said." Her eyes wandered to the sideways clouds, "it'll only stay like that for a short while though."

Ichigo made a noise of understanding nonetheless he didn't see the point of the whole thing. _If it would only stay incapacitated for a little while, what use was it to him--when he needed it in battle for maybe a longer period of time?!_

"You're wondering...what the end aim is." She was still looking up at the sky, blue reflected in purple irises. Ichigo had a feeling he was missing something and didn't want to seem like an idiot for not catching it. "Uh...yeah."

Her sigh was heavier this time, thin shoulders capped by worn light gray sleeves heaved, "put your mask on."

Hesitatingly he did as she said, despising the closed-up dead feeling that settled over his skin with the unfamiliar weight. Sure it had manifested a few times, but never willingly had he put the loathsome thing on. Kei took her eyes from the firmament long enough to see the white mask over his face, "good. Now..." the Katana rose in her hands, the easy stance one he recalled seeing Ikkaku take before hurling himself at an opponent during sparring matches.

Her eyes closed once, "I wish it would rain." The wistfulness in her voice surprised him, but before he had a chance to remark on her curious statement, Kei slid one foot forward, "...we fight."

~*~

_There's_...Orihime's palm slid against the invisible wall surrounding the old warehouse. ..._some sort of barrier. Strange...it almost feels like my Shun-Shun Rikka_.

She pressed forward, eventually slipping inside.

~*~

"So...think she can do it?" Lisa's tone unusually quiet tone caught Shinji's attention. "Of course, I do. I have all the confidence in the world in her ability. Not that I'm _not _a bit afraid for Ichigo-kun. He might not survive even the first--" the blond Vizard was interrupted.

"Someone broke into my barrier!" Hachi exclaimed.

Instantly everyone went on alert, hearing above at the top of the steps, a soft footfall...

~To be continued~

AN:) Thanks for reading!

No flames-haters-stupid comments!

Reviews appreciated :)


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